


Adjustment Phase

by ComeBackWhen



Series: Rescue [4]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-23
Updated: 2016-08-23
Packaged: 2018-08-10 12:49:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7845721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ComeBackWhen/pseuds/ComeBackWhen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Moving from friends to boyfriends is harder than Cloud expected. </p>
<p>Loosely inspired by the prompt: “Imagine person A walking out of the bathroom after a shower, half-naked and wreathed in steam, and B immediately dropping whatever they were holding.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Adjustment Phase

Zack rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm around Cloud so he could drag his youngest boyfriend through the door and into Sephiroth’s apartment, “You’re being ridiculous.”

“No, I’m not. I can hear the shower running.” Cloud tensed, trying to struggle against Zack’s arm so he could move back into the hallway, “It’s weird to just be sitting in his living room when he comes out of the bathroom.”

“Hey Seph! Me and Cloud are here!” Zack kicked the door shut behind them, pulling Cloud to the living room and pressing on his shoulders until he sat on the couch, “Now you can’t run because he’s expecting you to be here. And it’s not weird! You’ve done it plenty of times at my place. It never bothered you then.”

Cloud slouched into the couch, crossing his arms defensively, “That was different. You reeked.”

“Believe it or not, the great Silver General gets smelly from time to time. One time I even saw him with monster guts in his hair.” Zack threw himself down beside Cloud on the couch, “He washes up, just like the rest of us… only with way more shampoo.”

“It was different before.” Cloud protested, his eyes straying from Zack to the closed bathroom door, “It wasn’t weird to play a game or watch television while you took a shower. We were buddies. Sephiroth’s-”

“Your boyfriend? Our boyfriend? It’s totally okay to be attracted to him, you know.” He could not help but grin when Cloud blushed bright red up to his hairline. He had only officially been a part of their relationship for a week and still had not quite adusted to the idea. Zack heard the shower shut off and could not help teasing Cloud one last time before Sephiroth joined them, “I’ve seen him naked. It’s great.”

Cloud opened his mouth to reply with something sharp when the bathroom door opened. The words died on his tongue.

Sephiroth stood in the doorway, surrounded by steam from what had obviously been a hot shower. Cloud could not help but let his eyes roam across Sephiroth’s pale, perfect flesh. He let his gaze follow the graceful sweep of Sephiroth’s broad shoulders. He watched the way the taut muscles of his chest and abdomen shifted as he lifted a towel to rub as much water as he could from his hair.

Cloud was surprised to see a bit of silver hair just above the towel as well as a handful of thin, well healed scars on his hip and abdomen. His hands itched with the desire to touch Sephiroth’s skin, to tug the towel loose and see if the rest of him was as sinfully tempting as what he had already seen. A wicked, shameless voice at the back of his mind reminded him that he and Sephiroth were involved now. He could touch any of the gorgeous Soldier Firsts he was dating, Sephiroth included, if he wanted to.

Realizing the dangerous turn his thoughts were taking, he jerked his eyes back up to Sephiroth’s face. The silver haired man, seemingly satisfied that his hair would not drip too much water on the floor, let the damp towel drop over his shoulders. His face brightened into a delighted smile when he saw Zack and Cloud sitting on the couch.

“Zack… I thought I heard you come in.” He swung his lazy, half-lidded gaze to Cloud and the blond felt his thoughts stutter and die completely, “Hello Cloud.”

Cloud loved and hated the way Sephiroth said his name. It was practially a caress and Cloud always felt it as keenly as he would if Sephiroth were actually touching him. A small part of him wished Sephiroth were actually touching him.

It was obvious to Cloud that he needed to leave- he was dangerously close to making a fool of himself.  He wanted to go find a quiet place to cool off before Zack or Sephiroth guessed at the provocative turn of his thoughts.

“Oh, um, hey Sephiroth!” Cloud jumped to his feet, doing his best to not look as uncomfortable as he felt, “Actually, I… uh… gotta go. Sorry! It’s just that I remembered a couple of things that need to be taken care of before patrol tonight.”

Cloud turned to give Zack a quick kiss, ducking back before Zack could catch his arm of wrap an arm around his waist to keep him from going. He crossed the room to kiss Sephiroth as well, careful to keep from touching him more than was strictly necessary. It was brief and painfully awkward and he was all but running out of the apartment before either of them could say anything.

Sephiroth looked back at Zack, “What was that about?”

“It was my fault.” Zack admitted, guiltily ruffling the hair at the back of his head, “He was being weird about being in your apartment while you were in the shower so I started teasing him. I mean, he’s seen us all at pretty much our worst. It seemed silly for him to get so worked up about this. Of course, I wasn’t thinking that you would come out here in just your towel.”

Sephiroth made an absent sound of agreement, lips twitching upwards as he tried and failed to keep back a smile. He had been aware of the heated gaze raking over his body, but had assumed it was Zack. The man was shameless most of the time. Cl0ud’s reaction was unexpected, but a pleasant surprise nonetheless.

Zack climbed to his feet to give Sephiroth a proper kiss hello. He let his hands rest against Sephiroth’s hips, drawing lazy circles on the skin above the towel with his thumbs, “Hey there, sexy pants.”

“Ridiculous.” Sephiroth scoffed, his eyes teasing, “I’m not even wearing pants.”

“And as much as I would like to explore that, you’ve got a meeting with Lazard in thirty and I should probably find Cloud and apologize for winding him up in front of you. He’s so cute when he gets all bashful like that, but it still wasn’t nice.”  Zack leaned in and stole a couple lingering kisses, “I just wanted to make sure we were still on for dinner tonight.”

Sephiroth smiled, “I would not miss it.”

Zack gave Sephiroth’s hips one last squeeze before releasing him, “Good. I’ll see you at six. Love you!”

“And I, you.” Sephiroth replied, watching Zack disappear through the door before he headed to his room to dress. For a moment, he savored the warmth that always came with being told he was loved. For so long love had been missing from his life. Now that he had it, he was not sure he could survive without it. He would never tire of hearing the words, no matter how they were said.

For a moment, he let himself imagine the words coming from Cloud, even if he suspected it would be a long while yet before Cloud truly felt that way for any of them. Cloud was painfully shy and uncertain of his place in their relationship now that they had transitioned from friends to more. It would take time for Cloud to stop worrying about what he should and should not do and become comfortable just being with them. Surprisingly, Sephiroth found that he did not mind. He knew already that Cloud would be worth waiting for.


End file.
